


air conditioning is important (but wen junhui is better)

by shua_hui



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-26 16:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7581067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shua_hui/pseuds/shua_hui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's summer, but air conditioning and iced drinks don't seem to be enough for Jeon Wonwoo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	air conditioning is important (but wen junhui is better)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swelter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swelter/gifts).



> hi swelter/ofjisoos it's nice to finally meet (?) you!! i hope you'll enjoy this fic and i'm really sorry if it's lacking ;n;
> 
> im sorry if junhui seems a little ooc? I mean, I liked writing him like this so hopefully you'll like it too ^^;
> 
> (i added side gyuhao even tho you didn't ask for it I hope you don't mind ;;)
> 
> i came up with the title as a joke but then realised i couldn't think of anything else so I-

It’s early July, class has ended, the sun is beating down, and Jeon Wonwoo is burning under the heat as he strolls down the street leading to his favourite coffee shop. His rubber soles scrape against the baked concrete as he turns a corner, scowling just slightly when his destination comes into view, clearly packed with customers. This meant he’d have to sit  _outside_ , and that meant _no air conditioning_. What kind of hellish torture is that, seriously? 

 

Wonwoo’s eyes fall on the art gallery opposite the shop, also known as: favourite place to be number two (besides in his own bed under the blankets of course). Making a mental note to go and see the new exhibitions some time during the month, he turns into the exterior seating area of the coffee shop, his feet moving off the concrete and onto stylish wooden planks. His legs, or rather, his jeans, brush against some flowers trickling out of the wooden crates he passes by. It’s yet another reason he adores this place so much, it’s strikingly beautiful in the most comforting way. Not having the time to spare the peonies and gypsophila another glance, Wonwoo quickens his pace and swings open the glass door. He’s hit by a blast of cool air, coupled with the distinct aroma of coffee beans; a delighted sigh escapes his lips quietly.

 

Joining the back of the queue, Wonwoo digs his phone out of his jean pocket, drags it down his grey t-shirt to wipe the screen, and then unlocks it to check his email. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long until the line of people in front of him clears, so he stops grimacing at the new class assignment he’s been sent and glances up to face the expressionless barista from across the counter.

 

“Can I help you?” The barista asks, voice gruff and even slightly irritated.

 

Wonwoo returns the same poker face, “yeah, you can actually. Get the hell out of my face.”

 

At that, the barista bursts into a toothy grin, with his canines protruding and a deep cackle filling the area. Wonwoo could’ve been pissed at him for drawing so much unwanted attention if he wasn’t also laughing (though much quieter than his friend), his eyes creasing up.

 

“Let me guess. Iced vanilla latte- more espresso, less milk, maximum ice?” The taller boy asks in a tone that makes it sound more like a declaration, confirmed by the fact that he’s already jabbing the order into a machine.

 

“That’s right, well done. Genius Kim Mingyu wins again,” Wonwoo congratulates sarcastically, “how did you figure that one out? It’s not like I order the same thing every single time.”

 

Mingyu snorts just slightly, “alright no need to be mean,” he jokes. “I’ll have your order done in a sec. Oh, and have fun roasting to death outside.” Wonwoo rolls his eyes at this, his dark brown orbs then sweeping round the building and confirming that there are indeed no seats left inside. Handing over the cash (which includes generous tips, but it’s okay since he owes Mingyu some money anyway), Wonwoo shuffles off to the side to wait.

 

After grabbing his iced drink, Wonwoo reluctantly drags himself back outside and finds an empty table. He sets himself down along with his drink, then scrambles for his book which is hidden somewhere within the endless depths of his brown leather messenger bag. Finally plucking out ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, Wonwoo leans back in his seat and takes a sip of the cool, sweet beverage through his straw. The thing with being a lit major is that they expect you to just _consume_ texts like it’s food, and then regurgitate it all back out in the form of thousand word long essays. Basically, it’s extremely time consuming.

 

By the time he’s more than half way done with his latte, Wonwoo’s eyes have gone fuzzy from the size ten font, and he blinks harshly, head snapping up to give his eyes a break.

It’s at this moment that the loud chattering, harsh heat, clinking of glasses, and rhythmic music from inside the shop drift back into Wonwoo’s world, and a wild shrieking grabs his attention. His eyes dart to the right, where a fairly large group of guys around his age are sat around a table not far from his own. He identifies the shrieker as the guy with red hair and prominent cheekbones, and squints, because he actually looks a little familiar. The thought only lasts a second though, because Wonwoo’s attention is unfairly stolen by the boy seated next to cheekbones.

 

Wonwoo’s heart hitches, and he involuntarily sucks in a tiny breath of air, because  wow . Are his eyes glimmering? And that grin… Fingers diving up to rub his eyes for clearer vision, Wonwoo’s attention doesn’t stray one second away from the brunette. In fact, he’s not all that sure what hair colour that is at all. It’s like mousy brown, but also blonde. And the cutest thing is that it drapes over his forehead, his locks messy and looking almost like they’re wet. Now the guy’s laughing, large eyes creasing up and his teeth baring. It’s a little embarrassing, but Wonwoo literally can’t stop staring.

 

A familiar face sitting on the other side of the guy is the only thing that manages to bring Wonwoo’s attention away for a moment.

 

_Is that… Hong Jisoo?_ Wonwoo almost chokes on his own spit, because is that seriously the quiet, gentlemanly Hong Jisoo who sits silently at the back of his class? Hong Jisoo who only know how to smile when someone says hi to him? It’s hardly believable, because the Jisoo (lookalike?) sitting about ten feet away from him is, well, Wonwoo’s not even sure what he’s doing. He’s got both his arms raised, and he’s bobbing his head over exaggeratedly to the music, face smug like he actually thinks he's cool or something.

 

Not to judge or anything, but Hong Jisoo is being seriously lame, Wonwoo mentally notes.

 

And then it hits him.If that’s Jisoo, and those are his friends, then said friends must also go to his college.  Oh my god, his mouth hangs open at the realisation. He knows those people! Well, he clearly doesn’t know the godly figure between Jisoo and cheekbones though, because he would’ve  _definitely_ remembered a face like that if he’d seen it before. 

 

Biting his lip, Wonwoo forces himself to look away. Any longer, and the guy or one of his friends would definitely notice Wonwoo’s unintentionally creepy staring. Wonwoo hurriedly finishes his drink and gets up to leave.

 

He saunters out, caring and hoping for once that his retreating figure looks somewhat decent.

 

 

 

“Who you eyeing?” Kim Mingyu plonks down opposite Wonwoo, a caramel macchiato in one hand (iced, of course), and his phone in the other. Again, it’s a sticky summer day, and despite a few empty seats inside the coffee shop, Wonwoo strangely finds himself having opted for a seat outside.

 

His eyes darting away from a certain figure to face Mingyu, Wonwoo sips on his drink before answering, “no one.” Mingyu raises his eyebrows at this, so Wonwoo follows up with, “the flowers.”

 

Mingyu tilts his head back, “right… You’re asking me to believe that you chose to sit out here and be toasted by the sun rather than float around the AC indoors to admire nature?” Wonwoo only looks to the side, and offers a shrug.

 

“What else would it be?”

 

“You mean who,” Mingyu corrects smugly before turning his head back to scope around, his arm resting along the top of his chair. “Hmm,” he lets out under his breath in thought before recognising a group of guys a couple of tables away. Bursting into a wide smile, Mingyu waves excitedly and in return receives multiple nods and grins back.

 

Wonwoo watches, horrified. “You  _know_ them?” 

 

“Uh, yeah they go to our college,”Mingyu explains as if it’s the most obvious thing ever.

 

“I realised that, I just meant you’re…  _friends_ with them?” He mumbles out the question, suddenly feeling the heat all over his body, searing the back of his neck, tinging the tips of his ears, and spreading all the way down to his toes. 

 

“Oh,” Mingyu’s eyes blink once, “ _Ohhh,_ ”he repeats knowingly, tone turning smug. “You’re into one of them, who?” The left corner of his lips raise up in amusement and curiosity, causing Wonwoo to let out a groan because there’s hardly much chance of getting out of this one. “Don’t sulk, tell me,” Mingyu persuades. 

 

Sinking into his seat a little, Wonwoo starts, “well, I- I’m not  _into_ him, I just saw him the other day, and well, he’s… beautiful, isn’t he?” Mingyu chokes on his macchiato and splutters loudly. The older boy ignores his wild reaction and carries on, “I mean,  look. Look at that hair and those large eyes and  that nose . His lips are so-” He cuts off with a sigh, barely able to finish because there just aren’t enough words to describe such overwhelming beauty.

 

“Sorry,  who ? Who are you describing again?” Mingyu looks like he’s going to burst into genuine tears of laughter.

 

Lowering his voice, Wonwoo reluctantly replies, “…the one sitting next to Hong Jisoo.” Mingyu’s eyes widen with interest and he glances back again just to check.

 

“ _Wen Junhui?”_ He gasps, then chortles uncontrollably, rocking backwards on his chair.

 

Wonwoo hides his face with a hand, “you’re going to fall, you utter idiot.” The taller boy doesn’t stop laughing,  _can’t_ stop laughing. Rolling his eyes, Wonwoo attempts to hide his embarrassment and asks with slight irritation, “don’t you have better things to do on your lunch break rather than investigate me?”

 

Waving his hand frantically in front of his face and still shaking madly in his seat, Mingyu coughs, “actually, no I don’t. I’m stuck here until five, then I’m gonna go pick up you know who,” Mingyu scowls. “Anyway, this is actually the best thing that’s happened this whole week.  _You_ have a crush on Wen Junhui, oh my god I’m going to-”

 

“Could you  shut up ?” Wonwoo hisses through gritted teeth. “Anyway, it’s not a crush, I don’t even know him, it’d be stupid if I had a crush on him. I just really like the way he looks, and that’s normal. People like looking at pretty people, okay?” He explains. “Besides I’m gonna stop sitting out here after today, it’s too hot,” Wonwoo pulls on his shirt to cool himself down as he complains.

 

Mingyu finally calms himself down and sits up, “Oh yeah, that reminds me, Junhui and stuff never sit indoors cause they’re too noisy. The manager kicks them out, but it’s not too bad since I always reserve them the table closest to the entrance so they can kinda feel the air conditioning.” Wonwoo nods.

 

“So, why don’t you try and get to know him?”

 

Wonwoo digests the idea, and then speaks up, “no, that’s… stupid. That’s a bad idea, he’d never go for me anyway.”

 

“Uh,” Mingyu glances up as if in thought and then scratches his head, “actually, you’re right,” he comments, then notices the look of disappointment in Wonwoo’s eyes. “But not for the reason you’re thinking. Junhui’s like, extremely dense. An idiot who’s a bit awkward when it comes to relationships, basically.”

 

A quizzical look replaces the dismay on Wonwoo’s face. “You’re joking right?” Junhui didn’t seem like the oblivious type, let alone awkward, at least not to Wonwoo; if anything, he seemed like the complete opposite.

 

“Not joking,” Mingyu finishes up his drink and gets up, “if you talk to him you’ll see what I mean.” Throwing another silly grin at his friend, Mingyu kicks his chair back in and heads into the shop for the rest of his shift.

 

Wonwoo sighs, leans into his drink, and contemplates talking to Junhui.

 

 

 

“Stop taking my coffee!” Seungkwan snaps, slapping Seokmin’s hand away. “Just cause my mouth is busy reading a line doesn’t mean I-”

 

Soonyoung interjects, “hurry up and finish the line! We have to be done learning this scene by Sunday,” he finishes in a sulky tone, and Seungkwan rolls his eyes before pushing his drink towards himself and away from prying hands.

 

“It’s so sweaty I can’t even concentrate though,” Junhui wipes a hand across his forehead and leans back, blowing out a puff of air upwards to cool his face.

 

Seokmin purses his lips to one side, “in hindsight, I think maybe I shouldn’t have practiced my falsetto indoors?” The other four all turn to him with a glare, clearly still pissed about having been kicked out of the shop since a month ago. “Hey, don’t blame it all on me! I think Seungkwan gurgling his drink and choking probably did about as much damage as I did.” The deadly looks shift to Seungkwan.

 

He coughs and turns to the side, then jolts slightly when he notices a face staring at them from a few tables away. “Hey, guys, don’t look now, but there’s some guy staring really creepily over there.” Seokmin and Soonyoung freeze, fighting the instinct to swerve around and identify their possible stalker. Having been seated facing the said stalker, Jisoo and Junhui merely shift their gazes inconspicuously to see that there is indeed a guy around their age seemingly weirdly focused on their table.

 

“Why are they staring at us?” Soonyoung whispers through gritted teeth, as if Wonwoo would be able to hear them from so far away anyway. “Are they hot?” He adds as an afterthought.

 

Jisoo snorts loudly, before Junhui replies seriously, “actually yeah, they’re really attractive.”

 

“HA. THEY-” Seungkwan’s eyes bulge out of his sockets as if to warn Jisoo to lower his voice, which he does. “They’re in my class, I’ll gladly tell him what you said,” Jisoo smiles cheekily at Junhui, who in turn looks unbelievably scandalised.

 

After taking an unsuspicious glance back at Wonwoo, Seokmin whispers, “okay, but do you think he’s plotting to murder us all or is he just  _really_ into one of us?”

 

“I bet he’s into Jisoo,” Soonyoung exclaims with determination, like it’s some sort of game.

 

Jisoo coughs, and Seungkwan shakes his head, “nah, I bet murderer to be honest.”

 

“Guys, his name’s Wonwoo, and for the  last time, he’s in my class, okay? I know him- Well, not really know but trust me, he’s not into me.” Jisoo says in a serious tone for once.

 

Junhui rubs the back of his neck, “I think he’s probably just blanking out.”

 

 

Wonwoo strides into the coffee shop, eyes not even sparing a glance for the table of five by the entrance, determined not to let himself be baked to death as a sacrifice to stare at possibly-not-even-human Wen Junhui today.

 

He feels the burn on his scalp from the sun and internally thanks the blast of air conditioning when he steps inside. Seeing how awfully crowded the shop is, Wonwoo sighs, and decides he’s not even going to stay today. He’ll just grab a drink and go.

 

Unfortunately, walking tree Kim Mingyu doesn’t have a shift today, so he’s handed a sloppily done drink along with way too much change. (Seriously, doesn’t this guy know how to use notes along with coins?) Drink in one hand and balancing both change and phone in the other, Wonwoo begins shoving and sliding the coins into his jean pocket.

 

“Ah, crap,” he mutters under his breath as his phone drops to the ground with a clunk against the wooden planks. Just as he leans down to grab it, a hand flies in and swoops the phone up.

 

“Here,” the soft voice makes Wonwoo’s heart pound. And when he straightens back up to face the guy, he almost chokes on his tongue. It’s Junhui, of course it is, since Wonwoo’s life is almost always either a joke or a cliche. “Your phone?” Junhui pushes the phone towards him once again, eyes round and almost confused by Wonwoo’s reaction. His face literally has ‘hello this is yours why aren’t you taking it?’ written all over it.

 

Wonwoo’s mouth falls open, because he’s trying to say  something , but honestly can not, since the only thing his mind manages to process is  _oh my god, where is the justice?_ How does this guy look even more godly close up?

 

“Um,” Junhui bites his lip awkwardly.

 

Realising what an absolute idiot he must seem like, Wonwoo snaps out of his trance and grabs at the phone, fingers brushing against Junhui’s, and he’s gonna die because it feels like he might have just molested Junhui’s hand.

 

“T-Thanks.”  _Why did you stutter? Why why why why why?_ Wonwoo’s mind chants with self detest. Just as he’s about to dive out the way and sprint all the way back to his dorm and keel over from embarrassment, Junhui stops him again.

 

“Hey uh, you go to my college right?”

 

Wonwoo’s eyes grow wide, clearly baffled. “Uh, yes?” He slowly slips his phone into his back pocket, without taking his eyes off Junhui for even a moment.

 

“Cool…” Junhui looks as if he’s about to say something more, mouth opening and closing a few times, but doesn’t. They’re just standing there, staring at each other,  waiting for the other to say something. For the most part, Wonwoo’s just feeling pretty damn confused, and rightly so, since Junhui’s the one who initiated the conversation. His palms grow a bit sweaty, and he subtly wipes them against the back of his jeans.

 

Finally, Junhui speaks up again, “that’s uh- that’s all I wanted to say. Sorry.” His words all run into each other, but Wonwoo’s too busy swooning over the softness of his voice to notice.

 

“O-Oh,” Wonwoo stutters out, watching as Junhui’s cheeks glow a little pink. After another awkward silence, Junhui moves to the side for Wonwoo, but the latter doesn’t even realise, since his mind’s out of commission from over processing the thought that Mingyu was right, Junhui’s a freaking dork and he’s going to collapse right here because of it.

 

“Um,” Junhui mumbles awkwardly, then decides to push Wonwoo forward by the shoulders, chuckling lightly under his breath and hoping he’s not crossing boundaries. At this, Wonwoo jolts back into reality and then proceeds to  panic because holy shit, Wen Junhui’s touching his  shoulders.

 

Wonwoo’s head dips low to his feet, “uh thanks,” he mutters before running off.

 

 

“JIHOON, I’M GOING TO DIE.”

 

“No you’re not, now get off the floor,” Jihoon steps over his room mate and strides towards his desk, dropping into his squeaky swivel chair and pulling the curtains close. “I’ve got papers to finish and you’ve been whining for long enough,” he grumbles.

 

Wonwoo whines, “I  _would_ get off the floor, but I  can’t , because I’m dead, Jihoon. He held my shoulders, I’m never going to wash this shirt ever again, you know that right?” Jihoon rolls his eyes at this. “If you accidentally wash this shirt I will actually cry,” Wonwoo mumbles, his face flat on the wooden planked floor.

 

“You’re obsessed.”

 

Wonwoo flips himself over immediately to face the ceiling instead, “I am not! That’s just weird,” he exclaims decisively, but secretly contemplates the idea anyway.

 

“Except you are,” Jihoon mutters under his breath, fingers beginning to tap furiously at his laptop. “You can keep denying it but you are.” Honestly, Wonwoo isn’t the type to get crushes easily, and neither is Jihoon, so this type of talk rarely happens between them, and Jihoon’s actually completely fine with that arrangement.

 

“Listen,” Wonwoo begins to explain weakly, “I can’t be obsessed with him because I don’t know him. It’s simple logic.”

 

“Well, that clearly hasn’t stopped you.”

 

 

“Is it nice? Is it good?”

 

“No, it’s gross like you,” the younger boy pulls the drink away from his lips with a face of disgust and watches with satisfaction as Mingyu’s pout turns more and more extreme until it’s a full on frown. “Stop looking so miserable and focus on improving your coffee skills instead.”

 

Mingyu kicks the chair next to his slightly, “But  _Minghao,_ I put all my love into it, I don’t know where it went wrong.” His eyes resemble those of a puppy’s, while his whole face just looks  so genuinely distressed and his shoulders are drooped. Minghao tilts his head away to hide the blush that’s creeping onto his cheeks because Mingyu is being so adorable and Minghao’s so close to just straight up telling him that.

 

Instead, Minghao just snickers, “probably the part where you didn’t add enough sugar.”

 

“ Minghao,”  Mingyu flings his arms out to engulf the smaller boy, “you hurt my feelings.” He coos, nuzzling his nose into his boyfriend’s neck, who says nothing but reaches an arm out to cradle Mingyu around the shoulders.

 

“I’m going to throw up.”

 

The couple break apart just slightly to offer apologetic looks at Wonwoo, who’s leaning back with his arms crossed, the agony clear on his face. “I am legitimately going to regurgitate my latte into that crate of white and pink peonies by my feet if you don’t stop climbing all over each other.”

 

Pulling away reluctantly, Mingyu’s lower lip folds over his upper one shyly but tugs Minghao’s hand into his own, squeezing it affectionately. “Sorry…”

 

Sighing, Wonwoo pushes his chair back, “you know what? I’ll just leave-”

 

“Hey guys.” The softness in the familiar voice sends violent tremors through Wonwoo’s heart, and he whips his head round to find Wen Junhui taking the seat next to his, hand gently placing a half finished iced americano onto their table. “Mingyu, Minghao,” he smiles at the couple, who greet back with enthusiasm.

 

Wonwoo doesn’t miss the amused glint in Mingyu’s eyes.

 

“Hey, I didn’t get to introduce myself last time,” Junhui chuckles out awkwardly, “I’m Junhui- Wen Junhui.” He holds his hand out for a handshake, like a true gentleman, and Wonwoo stares with wide eyes for a few seconds before snapping back into reality.

 

“I’m Jeon Wonwoo,” he takes Junhui’s hand. It’s cold and a little wet from the iced drink he was holding, while Wonwoo’s is embarrassingly laced with sweat. “What are you um, what are you doing here?” He asks nervously.

 

Junhui merely shrugs, “I mean, it just looked like you were having an awful time third wheeling and I’m friends with those two so I guess I thought I’d say hi- Oh, do you not want me here? I’m sorry, I just-”

 

“No!” Wonwoo bursts out, leaping forward before Junhui can even finish, fingers landing awkwardly on the arm of Junhui’s chair. “That’s not… it…” He trails off weakly, then squeaks, “sorry.” He tries to ignore the guffawing from across the table, but fails and harshly kicks Mingyu’s leg from under the table.

 

“Immature,” Mingyu coughs out.

 

Junhui notices this whole interaction and laughs. “You guys are good friends, huh? I wonder why I’ve never met you before, Wonwoo.” Wonwoo makes a weak attempt at trying to hide his sheepish grin because he’s so in love with the way Junhui says his name. His voice is just so light, and happy, and  good. Wonwoo doesn’t even have the right words.

 

“I just- Maybe cause we just haven’t seen each other around much before…” Wonwoo internally sighs at his inability to keep a conversation flowing, and flushes red from all the over thinking storming his brain. Thankfully, Junhui doesn’t appear to notice.

 

Breaking into another sparkling grin, Junhui reaches for his drink and takes a long sip. “That’s a shame,” he finally says, bringing the straw away from his mouth, “you know what? We should get to know each other!” He suggests cheerfully, and Wonwoo collapses right there on the spot. At least mentally, he does.

 

Mingyu snickers.

 

“Y-Yeah, we should do that.”

 

 

“JIHOON. HE THINKS PLANTS ARE IMPORTANT TOO,” Wonwoo cries out excitedly, “HE’S AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TYPE OF GUY. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?” He’s laying horizontally across his bed, feet blazing from the summer heat with his face planted into the mattress.

 

“Oh really? How amazing and cool, it would probably sound even cooler if I gave more than negative five shits about this guy,” Jihoon grumbles into his pillow as he attempts to catch maybe at least five hours of sleep.

 

“Can’t you stop being salty for like  _one_ second and just listen to me?” Wonwoo groans.

 

Jihoon throws a leg out from underneath his blanket, “hmm. Let me think,” he enunciates each word, “How about… _no_ ? Yeah, the answer’s no,” he finishes, deadpan.

 

Wonwoo ignores this and clutches onto his pillow, squeezing it in his arms, “ _Listen._ He recycles, ” his voice dips low and manages to sound even more dreamy, if that’s even possible.

 

“Wow,  _amazing,_ and he probably takes out the rubbish too, unlike your lazy ass.” Before Wonwoo can retaliate, Jihoon continues, the exhaustion evident in his voice, “I’m trying to sleep, Wonwoo. It’s almost  four AM. You should go to bed as well okay?” Has Wonwoo been talking about his crush for the past four hours? The answer is yes.

 

“…Fine.”

 

 

“Hey look, creepy stalker-possibly murderer is staring at us again,” Soonyoung comments, voice lowered as he discreetly nods his head towards where Wonwoo is sitting. There are creased scripts strewn across the table along with an assortment of half finished iced drinks.

 

Junhui perks up with interest at this. “Weren’t you talking to him the other day?” Seokmin questions casually, pressing a cooled drink to his forehead and rolling it across his face.

 

Rubbing the back of his neck, which is actually on fire from the mid July weather, Junhui shrugs. “Yeah, I said hi. He knows Mingyu and Minghao so I thought I’d just greet him, okay? Stop making those weird faces at me, geez.” He turns away from the other four, who are raising their eyebrows with way too much curiosity in their eyes for Junhui to handle.

 

“You into him?” Jisoo asks rather loudly.

 

Junhui shuffles awkwardly in his seat, “I- I mean, he’s kinda cute-”

 

“He’s into you though.” All five heads whip up to find Mingyu towering over them, lips wearing a mischevious grin and revealing his canines. Junhui looks positively shocked, Jisoo is snickering, and the other three are giggling as they throw multiple indiscreet glances at Wonwoo. “I mean, I thought it was obvious enough so I just had to say it,” he continues, pulling out a chair next to Jisoo and plopping himself down.

 

“ I KNEW IT!” Jisoo exclaims, pumping his fist. “I knew he was into Junhui and not just a serial killer.”

 

The others all roll their eyes at this, “no you didn’t,” Seungkwan disagrees.

 

“Well you thought he was a creepy murderer so you were definitely wrong.”

 

Meanwhile, Junhui is blanking out, processing the words, ‘ _he’s into you though’_ just about five thousand times in his head.  _What?_ Light pink blossoms on his cheeks, “um, are you sure?” He asks meekly, turning to face Mingyu, who nods frantically in reply.

 

“Don’t tell him I told you though, because I probably shouldn’t have…” He coughs awkwardly from the guilt, but also can’t help but feel a little proud, because Junhui is visibly flustered, and that’s surely a good sign for Wonwoo. Wiping a heavy hand across his forehead to clear the sweat, Mingyu changes the topic, “so what are you guys up to?”

 

“Uh, no.” Seungkwan gives him a look of disbelief, “we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about  this. ” If not about their theatre events, the group’s conversation is always based on some form of gossip and  this  would definitely be a great subject to discuss.

 

Mingyu shrugs, taking a quick sip of his caffeinated drink, “I don’t know much. He said something along the lines of ‘ _look Mingyu he looks like a prince and I wanna hold his hand and buy him flowers and kiss his lips and mememememe,”_ Mingyu imitates by lowering his voice and making it sound a little stupid, then pauses when he spots Wonwoo glancing over. “Okay, I really need to shut up now, he’d kill me if he found out I just said that,” his voice returns to its original tone just at the five boys burst into a fit of laughter, knees hitting the underneath of the table and hands slapping furiously at each other.

 

“You’re a shit friend, you know that right?” Jisoo shakes his head at Mingyu, who twists his lips uncomfortably but doesn’t deny it. He’d like to think he’s doing Wonwoo a favour by urging Junhui on, because even as a good friend of the both of them, he can’t tell who’s shyer, who’ll make the first move, so he’s just gotta push them both with some motivation right?

 

Seokmin leans forward, propping his elbow on the table and sitting his chin in his palm, “so Junhui. What do you think?” Junhui looks mostly embarrassed, but the corners of his lips are pulled up unwittingly. He brushes the back of his head, silent, and scrunches at the nape of his neck before shrugging.

 

“I don’t know, wouldn’t it seem weird if I asked him out? I mean, I barely know him…”

 

Mingyu rolls his eyes at that, “you two seemed like you had a great conversation last time, you know, when Minghao was here.” He turns to Junhui with a questioning brow, who in return laughs out loud at the cute memory.

 

“Yeah, he’s- he told me about his pot plants.” Soonyoung and Seokmin look at each other incredulously, Seungkwan coughs halfway through drinking his beverage, and Jisoo snorts. Mingyu makes a mental note to tease Wonwoo about this, because who the hell tells their crush about pot plants in their first conversation? Mingyu can just imagine it, Wonwoo choking on his tongue and spitting out just  any  thought in his head that could keep the conversation going, and of course it was pot plants. “And we talked about college, classes and stuff. He seems like a nice guy,” Junhui finishes honestly.

 

“He talked to you about pot plants mate. Be honest, he’s boring isn’t he?” Jisoo leans back in his seat, eyebrows raising slightly.

 

Junhui shakes his head, “no, he’s… endearing in a way.”

 

 

 

“What were you doing over there? What did you say about me?” Wonwoo hisses impatiently at Mingyu when he finally leaves Junhui’s table and heads over. “If you embarrassed me, I swear to god-”

 

“Er, no offense but you embarrass yourself so… Also, I’m friends with them, why wouldn’t I be over there?” He avoids the second question, and Wonwoo notices, taking it as a sign that Mingyu’s said something.

 

His eyes widen, bulging, “what did you say about me? Oh my god, I’m going to kill you if you ruined my image.”

 

“Wonwoo, I’m sorry!” Mingyu squeaks, his guilt getting the better of him. The older boy looks horrified now. “I didn’t say  much , but it’s what he told me that’s more important, right?” Nodding, Wonwoo urges him to go on. “So,” he pauses for the suspense and then tucks his chair in closer to the table for secrecy, “he said you were  endearing. ”

 

Wonwoo turns visibly crimson, his eyes widening as he grips his drink. “You’re… joking right?”

 

“No, I’m not. So can you  please just ask him out already?” Mingyu pleads, like it matters more to him than it does to Wonwoo.

 

Grimacing, Wonwoo turns to the side, rubbing the bottom of his neck, “whatever. Just because your boyfriend’s insufferable doesn’t mean you have to wish upon me the same fate.”

 

“You’re insinuating that Junhui would be a be a shit boyfriend, and you and I both know that’s not true,” Mingyu challenges with confidence, crossing one leg over the other (and hitting his knee under the table because of his god given long legs).

 

“And  you’re saying that Minghao’s a shit boyfriend and that’s not-”

 

“Look, Wonwoo. Stop talking to me and go and talk to Junhui, okay?”

 

Wonwoo shifts uncomfortably, “but his friends are always there and I don’t know them and they’re kind of loud so they’ll probably make fun of me in front of ev-” He stops mid sentence when Mingyu stands abruptly.

 

“Oh shit, my lunch break ended five minutes ago, gotta run! Just do it, okay?”

 

 

Wonwoo groans. It’s been half an hour since Mingyu’s lunch break has ended, and he’s been stuck on his own, trying to find a way to ask out Wen Junhui. Since the object of his affection is seemingly  _always_ surrounded by his theatre friends, (almost like a prince being protected by several guards, Wonwoo likes to think) the most effective way to talk to him is  _probably_ to just stride right up and pull a ‘hi can I talk to Junhui in private please.’ But that’s  _so_ embarrassing, and he’s not in nursery school anymore.

 

When Junhui  _finally_ gets up from his table to head into the shop, Wonwoo leaps up to run after him, mentally thanks god for the chance, trips on his feet, and then proceeds to do a wobbly half sprint towards Junhui.

 

“Junhui!” He calls out a little too eagerly. Luckily, the older boy looks just as pleased to see Wonwoo. “I- I um,” his voice lowers to a mutter, and he’s not too sure whether he feels encouraged or embarrassed when he notices Junhui’s face is looking so expectant. Wonwoo can almost feel Junhui’s group of friends sneering from behind him, and he can’t help but squirm.

“Yeah?”

 

The softness in his voice and  _that grin_ just melts Wonwoo on the spot faster than the summer sun does. “Do you wanna hang out some time?” He blurts out, and Junhui looks like he’s going to reply, but Wonwoo’s mind just goes,  ah, fuck it.  “What I mean to say is, I like you and I wanna go on a date with you. And if you don’t answer in three seconds I’m going to run away to live in some obscure mountain range out of embarrassment so pleas-”

 

_"Yes."_ Junhui breaks into an even harder grin, teeth biting down on his lower lip, a mellow chuckle escaping his tongue. “Yes I wanna go on a date with you.” There’s a moment of silence where Wonwoo is attempting to recover from his awe, so Junhui adds, “unless your idea of a date is making wide eyes at me for five hours-” 

 

“No! I mean-” Wonwoo pauses to laugh at himself, “I mean, I was thinking we could go to the art gallery from across the street? I really like it there.”

 

Junhui glances past Wonwoo and nods lightly in acknowledgment of the place, “Okay, yeah, why not?” He answers casually, and Wonwoo’s insides finally settle, especially when he realises that despite Junhui’s casual grin and the way he’s got his hands tucked inside his pockets like he doesn’t really care, there’s a hint of anxiousness in his eyes too.

 

“Okay, this weekend?” Wonwoo finally breathes, and smiles.

 

“This weekend.”

 

 

After two days of painful waiting and panicking, Wonwoo finally finds himself pacing outside the art gallery, mentally scolding himself for not asking for Junhui’s number because even though he’s technically ten minutes late, he’s dying from anticipation and worried sick that Junhui might have decided to ditch him.

 

“Sorry I’m late!” A voice calls out, panicked, and Wonwoo whips his head round to see Junhui jogging towards him. Immediately, his jaw goes slack and he’s not sure whether it’s because of the way Junhui’s dressed, in a crisp white polo shirt with navy lining the sleeves paired with chinos, or the fact that he’s holding a  _bouquet of flowers_ in his hand. The pastel coloured petals are scattering as he runs, and Wonwoo blushes with awe at the romantic gesture.

 

Junhui’s footsteps slow down as he reaches Wonwoo, and he looks up apologetically. “It’s okay, I was early anyway,” Wonwoo admits honestly, hoping that it won’t betray the fact that he just  couldn’t wait.

 

“O-Oh,” Junhui smiles. “Here,” he holds forward the bouquet of white and pink peonies, “they’re the same as the ones in the coffee shop. I thought it would be special or something, since that’s where we first met,” Junhui laughs awkwardly, and it sounds like a light tinkling to Wonwoo’s ears.

 

“Thank you,” Wonwoo takes the gift with both hands, and that’s when he realises, there’s no where to put it.

 

“Oh god,” Junhui breathes out, coming to the same realisation. “Oh god, this was such a dumb idea, now you’re going to have to carry it everywhere and it’ll be tiring and you’ll probably accidentally leave it somewhere, I’m so sor-”

 

Wonwoo waves his hands frantically to calm Junhui down, “no, it’s okay! I’ll hold it the whole time it doesn’t matter, I like it… a lot,” he mumbles the last part out.

 

At this, Junhui lets out a relieved sigh and then beams.

 

“Also!” Wonwoo stops just as they’re about to enter the building, “I can’t believe I forgot to ask last time, but can I have your number? Just in case- you know, like, if I lose you in there or something,” he trails off, feeling more and more idiotic as he rambles on.

 

“You know,” Junhui begins, pulling his phone out from his pocket, “I thought I was an awkward person, but you’re even more awkward than me,” he laughs honestly and Wonwoo jolts slightly, offering the quietest apology for his odd behaviour. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it in a bad way-” Junhui looks panicked, and Wonwoo is suddenly distracted all over again from how cute he looks. “I meant it in a nice way, like, you’re really adorable that way- I mean, I just- I mean it in the best way possible,” he finishes when his tongue literally can’t loop and twirl any more to form actual words.

 

Wonwoo smiles, then laughs, his nose scrunching up in amusement, “Okay, I believe you.”

 

 

 

"This here... is my favourite piece," Wonwoo introduces, shuffling past a group of people and leading Junhui into a room while hiding his childish enthusiasm.

 

Junhui ducks past another large party of people to catch up with Wonwoo. His eyes dance across a row of canvases, until finally admiring the small canvas in front of Wonwoo, framed delicately in silver and hung shyly alongside the others, almost like a hidden gem.

 

At first glance, it's just a cluster of flowers, but when Junhui stares longer, he sees it. The way the light pink contrasts with the deep crimson and how it all pieces together to display a human heart. The stalks twisting to form the veins and arteries; the petals blooming to imitate the shape of chambers.

 

"Wow," Junhui gasps out unintentionally.

 

"I know," is all he receives as a reply. Junhui lifts his attention away from the art and turns to face Wonwoo, who looks utterly captivated.

 

Junhui wets his lip, "why do you like it so much?"

 

"Because," Wonwoo breathes out, eyes leaving the piece finally, "it stole my attention from the first glance." His lips crack into a smile, "and when I went to look closer, it was so much more than it'd seemed at first. I like that- the element of surprise," he explains earnestly. "Oh, and of course, it's beautiful isn't it?"

 

"It is," Junhui answers, nodding.

 

Turning to face Junhui, Wonwoo's eyes turn focused as if he's studying something. "It's kinda like you, actually," he admits, simultaneously laughing at himself. When Junhui gives him a look of confusion, Wonwoo grins with his teeth bared. "Stole my attention at first glance, a lot more than they seemed initially, also beautiful?"

 

"O-Oh," Junhui's head dips slightly, his face flushing warm. "Thanks, you're also- also... those things," he chuckles nervously at his own honesty. "Caught my eye with one look, more beneath the surface, and definitely very beautiful," he admits, a little anxious.

 

Wonwoo grins, suddenly a lot more comfortable, "thanks." It's nice to know that Junhui really is a lot shyer than expected.

 

 

 

"I had a great time," Junhui tells the younger boy honestly when they exit the gallery a couple hours later. "Thanks a lot, Wonwoo." There it is again, the soft and almost adoring way that Junhui calls his name. Wonwoo melts.

 

"Me too," Wonwoo smiles, and his right hand waves the bouquet gently, as a reminder of his gratitude for the surprise gift. "You really didn't need to though," Wonwoo adds shyly, referring to the flowers.

 

Junhui shakes his head, "I wanted to. Besides, you can always get me something back next time." He grins, and Wonwoo wonders if the car that had just passed by altered his hearing capabilities.

 

"Next time?" Wonwoo repeats, head jutting forward just slightly.

 

"Yeah." Junhui nods. He leans forward, pausing a centimetre before Wonwoo's cheek, as if asking for permission. Wonwoo freezes, doesn't move, can't move. He hopes it's enough for Junhui to tell that yes, Wonwoo does want his lips on his cheek. Fortunately, it is. His lips peck Wonwoo's cheek just as his eyes flutter close when he leans forward.

 

It ends as quickly as it came, and Wonwoo can't help but feel slightly disatisfied when Junhui pulls away. His fingers fly out towards his date, clambering for his hand. Junhui looks more than just a little surprised when Wonwoo finally captures his hand and pulls him closer again.

 

Wonwoo mentally thanks that they're pretty much the same height, and he leans in, his lips pressing softly against Junhui's. It's sweet, the way Junhui's lips part open in surprise, the way he squeezes Wonwoo's hand and rubs gently at his palm. It's still short, but a sense of longing now hangs in the air, even when Wonwoo pulls away.

 

It's embarrassing, but Junhui's face turns a shade of bright crimson. "I take back what I said earlier," he mumbles out, surprising Wonwoo. "I'm definitely more awkward," he admits with a laugh.

 

"I like you that way," Wonwoo smiles simply, noticing that their hands are still entwined. "I like you the way you are."

 

"Me too," Junhui breathes out with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> this was short oh god this was real short but I hope you liked it! ^^;  
> \--  
> screams i wrote the ending on a plane cri


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